Comments on: I Love All These Cyclists! (except when I don’t)

By: Dottie

Dottie — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 04:42:18 +0000

My building has showers only as part of a gym membership.

By: Man

Man — Thu, 21 May 2009 07:39:57 +0000

Interesting..
I bike three miles to the train station, take the train in to the city and then walk a few blocks to work (plus the reverse commute) all in a suit. There are some adjustments I make for example; I never wear my tie until I get to work and if it is extremely hot I remove my coat and fold up on the back bike rack. Women’s suit skirts probably are not the most comfortable to ride in.

)Does your workplace offer bike showers or do you have to change inside your office? Curious as our building is actually considering bike showers and covered parking as part of the building renovation)

By: philip

philip — Sat, 16 May 2009 07:27:31 +0000

You have certainly caught my sentiment in this one. I remember the winter miles. Snow, and icicles trying to form under my nose, the freezing wind and frostbitten hands. All winter I have been out on roads that are now as familiar as old friends. Suddenly with warm spring sunshine, I am jostled at lights, with the occaisaonal smirk at my rotund frame. Young bucks blast away from the lights with pride taking place of manners or safety. The tortoise can pedal though, his short legs powering through the big rings, and illustrating that cycling is much more substrantial than a burst across a road junction.

By: Scott

Scott — Fri, 15 May 2009 23:02:52 +0000

“we invent a dress code so that most people think they need an SUV to get around”

Completely true. I cycle straight to the court house in a suit sometimes for a morning hearing, and no one has any idea I came by bike. The only clue is the hooks on the back of my Ortlieb office bag. But if I get a Velorbis, I will use my leather briefcase on the built-in rack — very sharp!

By: LisaGW

LisaGW — Fri, 15 May 2009 15:59:05 +0000

Keep on keeping on, Girls. Love your blog!

By: RocBike.com | The RocBike Review » Links of the Day or Some Other Day: May 15, 2009

Fri, 15 May 2009 14:23:37 +0000

[...] I Love All These Cyclists (Except When I don’t) – I rarely ever have this problem except when I do. Seeing other cyclists on my route is the exception rather than the rule… except for all the folks who are riding the bus with their bikes now-a-days. [...]

By: spiderleggreen

spiderleggreen — Fri, 15 May 2009 14:23:22 +0000

I also love your point that, because you have been riding all winter, you’re are really a much faster cyclist than almost everyone out there. It’s very true. I’ve past “speed racers” on my Schwinn or more often, known that if I really wanted to keep up with them, I could. Regular riding has had a cumulative effect for me and my commutes are much easier, this year.

By: MamaVee

MamaVee — Fri, 15 May 2009 13:29:23 +0000

Looking good!

By: dottie

dottie — Fri, 15 May 2009 12:44:31 +0000

That’s very true about inventing a dress code that requires an SUV. Funny and sad at the same time. One day I hope not to need suits, then I definitely would wear my normal clothes on the bike (and those clothes would be a lot more fun and interesting). My set up of leaving all suits and work shoes at the office works perfectly. I’m a big sweat-er (not to be confused with sweater) and would be so hot and uncomfortable in a suit for 7 miles, plus I try to wear my suits as many times as possible before dry cleaning.

By: anna

anna — Fri, 15 May 2009 06:20:16 +0000

I know exactly your problem with these type of cyclists. It’s not the problem that they are slow and unexperienced, I watch out for those and respect them. But what I can’t stand is when they squeeze by at red lights (maybe even run a red light) and then block me as I want to carry on.

About clothes: I wear normal clothes and normal shoes every day (I don’t have any bike gear except gloves that I use for more comfort on long tours) and luckily I never have a problem with sweating or such. But my commute isn’t all that long and I can understand if you want to change before you get to the office. But there are not many people here who change their clothes, in fact I don’t know anybody (ok, my officemate carries a spare shirt but not more). But we don’t really have to dress formally very often. Sometimes I argue with people who say that they can’t cycle because they have to wear a suit. I always tell them that in the Netherlands and Denmark everybody cycles in suits if they need one – and if they don’t like that they could always leave it at work (like you do). Humankind is very strange though – we invent a dress code so that most people think they need an SUV to get around. Very silly if you think about it. Glad you show them that it can be done differently ;-).